REVIEW: THE MAIDS
The Maids poster, directed by James Watson (Former Empire Times Editor)
REVIEWED BY TOM HORRIDGE AND ANGEL PARKER.
The Maids was a theatrical piece that gave voices and a stage to those who don’t have one, in this case, the lower-class maids, Claire and Solange. Prominent themes explored were class disparity, identity, loss of hope and power. Claire and Solange feel like there is no escape from their reality, they are stuck. They follow their insanity caused by their position trying on their mistress’s dresses. This turns into role-play that turns into a murderous scheme, that is all too real.
Virgina Blackwell, Emelia Williams and Kate Owens are sensational actors as well unsurprisingly Flinders Drama Center graduates. There acting was flawless and so engaging that it felt real, and the audience was a part of the show. Additionally, there was great showcase of vulernability through crude performance and an intense unsteady emotional atmosphere. A notable aspect of acting was Kate Owens short lived but impactful performance. Her character was fully realised in numerous ways, such as the way she carried herself, through vocal performance and movement and mannerisms so simple but effective in conveying class.
Towards the beginning of the performance it was a bit shockingly crude, sometimes appreciated but at other times confusing and took away from the main plot. To elaborate it the first half was hard to follow, and seemingly misplaced covnersations and language, that had us going ‘What?’. Although, they brought it back with some very strong plot points. In particular, the suspenseful atmosphere having audience members completely engaged and intrigued when a plan for murder was unfolding in front of their eyes. Impressively, the maids triggered a contangious feeling of dread and suffication due to their losss of hope in their seemingly inescapable role. This loss of hope not only for the maids but for the audience, when after the failure of the murder of the mistress and their schemes being unveiled, Claire decides to take matters in her own hands, renacting one last fantasy and ending her own life. This not only reflected such a strong feeling of loss of hope, but more realistically reflected the human condition the darkness of giving up when its not the end, with this incomplete conclusion.
The costumes or at times lack of there of, reflected the maids vulnerability, their lack of autonomy, control, and their lower position. Whilst with the mistress, it made her character and class more than clear. Additionally, costume was a strong signal of transition from reality to their role-playing fantasies of a life that is a better, shown with them daring to touch and try their mistress’s dresses.
The set was suitable with it being simply just the mistress’s room, and further perpetrated a sense of stuck. Strikingly, The mistress played by Kate owen for most of the play was a part of the set, which seemed to us to be a symbol that you never escape from those above you, and there is no privacy and lack of autonomy, reflecting the conditioning underlying influences have on us, such as capitalism and other societal pressures.
Lighting was not particularly special to us, except for one impactful moment where there was a scene with the exit door shining an almost heavenly-like light, freedom in hands grasps only to be blockaded off and given up on.
There was a lack of sound which allowed the actors to be heard in an eerie atmosphere that left the audience uncomfortable, and any time there was sound sent a signal of panic, like when the phone rang acting as a symbol of the maid’s world coming quickly to an end.
To conclude, we adored the fact that majority of the production team were Flinders Graudates, and we believe its nice to see such success that originated at our own university (Tom especially being a Drama centre nerd). We see this production not only as a successful part of theatre, but a a success piece that will hopefully influence, inspire and give hope (rather than loss of) to current drama centre students for their future in the field #slayFlinders.
The Maids overall reflected strong themes a strong message, that ties very much with present day. The production mentioned their message tying in with the cost of living crisis, and we can see how it does but a more stronger theme that ties in not only with that but with almost everything young people tackling these days, is that loss of hope.